Pubdate: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 Source: Summit Daily News (CO) Copyright: 2012 Summit Daily News Contact: http://apps.summitdaily.com/forms/letter/index.php Website: http://www.summitdaily.com/home.php Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/587 Author: Caddie Nath, Summit Daily News TWO SUMMIT COUNTY POT RAIDS THIS WEEK Local Man Caught With More Than $600,000 in Marijuana Local and Front Range authorities busted two illegal marijuana grow operations this week as a wave of drug raids swept Colorado. Scott Matthew Shumsky, 38, was arrested late Monday night after Summit County Sheriff's Office deputies found 16 ounces of marijuana and 120 plants at his residence. The processed marijuana had an estimated street value of $5,800, while the plants were valued at approximately $600,000. Shumsky was charged with one count of possession of more than 12 ounces of marijuana, a Class 4 felony carrying a sentence of up to six years in prison, and marijuana cultivation, a Class 6 felony punishable by up to 18 months in jail and $100,000 in fines. Shumsky has been released on a $7,500 bond. An anonymous complaint led the sheriff's office to Shumsky's residence at 16 Bemrose Trail, where they also discovered three firearms and hydroponic equipment used to cultivate marijuana. "They did a fine job in wrapping this up so quickly after we received the tip," Sheriff John Minor stated of the investigation team in a recent release. "Hopefully this will serve as a lesson to others that non-medical marijuana cultivation is a crime and will not be tolerated in Summit County." Statewide raids Shumsky's arrest came just two days before a statewide wave of raids Wednesday morning, including one in Breckenridge. A total of 16 individuals were arrested, but no information about who or how many people were arrested in the Breck raid has been released. Wednesday morning's sting was the culmination of a six-month investigation of an illegal marijuana ring that spread across the Front Range and into the mountains, officers with the North Metro Task Force, which led the raids, said. "We executed 25 search warrants today," North Metro Task Force cmdr. Jerry Peters said. "They've been growing marijuana here and shipping it out of state. It has nothing to do with medical marijuana, it's truly an illegal grow operation." Homes were raided in unincorporated Adams County, Broomfield, Denver, Fredrick and Erie as well as Breck. There could be additional raids in the coming days, Peters said. A total of 69 criminal charges, including racketeering and conspiracy under the Colorado Civilized Crime Control Act, distribution of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and money laundering, were included in the 16 arrest warrants executed during the raids. Names of the individuals arrested have not been released. Many of the grow operations were being run from homes in residential neighborhoods, according to a statement released by the task force and the 17th Judicial District Attorney Wednesday. Summit County officials said Shumsky's arrest was not connected to the task force raids. But this week's arrests have focused local law enforcement's attention on the drug problem in Summit County. Authorities indicated they would begin researching whether drug-related crime has increased in the year since a local drug task force was dismantled. "We do want to take a closer look at what's happening up here and whether the community is experiencing a larger problem now the drug task force has been disbanded," sheriff's office spokeswoman Tracy LeClair said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.